


Serpentine

by Indig0



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gradual Transformation, M/M, Magic AU, Naga, Simon becomes a snake due to Gay Panic, Snakes, mild body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 05:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20483855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: Simon belongs to an ancient bloodline of powerful mages and witches who, despite not practicing the arts anymore, still possess strong magic in their veins. This magic doesn't manifest often, and Simon rarely uses it (his twin Daniel uses it more frequently to multitask), but sometimes when he gets upset strange things happen.Simon meets Markus Manfred and is immediately smitten but his insecurities end up triggering his magic, causing a slow transformation that he doesn't understand.Prompt paraphrased from Epsy.





	1. Chapter 1

“You’re in a good mood,” Daniel commented when Simon came in the door.

Simon looked up. “Do you - get off the ceiling, you’re showing off - do you have a minute?”

Daniel turned and slid down the wall to land on the couch. “Nobody was here, why would I show off for myself?” he asked. “I’ve always got a minute for my favorite brother.”

“Your only brother,” Simon corrected, sitting and drawing his legs up under him.

“Thank goodness for that,” Daniel responded, grinning. “What’s up?”

“Well… this guy came into the store today to buy some paints… He just moved to town, he and his father both paint. He, um… well a lot of customers make small talk or something, but… he was really interested in what I had to say. About the area, the artist scene, all kinds of things.”

“…So he wanted to know about the area,” Daniel commented, heating the kettle on the stove and putting hot chocolate mix in two cups with a gesture.

“I mean - yes, but he was just… really attentive, and… and nice.”

Daniel stared at him. “…Simon, you need more basic human interaction.”

Simon waved him away. “Don’t be a jerk about it, I’m just not explaining it well enough. It was kind of funny - well, I don’t know, maybe that’s the wrong word. But I was mixing a lighter yellow for him, and I mentioned I’d just put a snake of cadmium and a snake of ivory, and his face scrunched up and he told me not to call them snakes because he has a phobia and now he’ll think of that whenever he’s squeezing out paint.”

“You like the weirdest things. Think he’ll be back?”

“He said he would. Soon!” Simon grinned.

“What’d you get on your face?”

“…What?”

“You look - I don’t know, did you get something shiny on your face?”

“No!” Simon rubbed his face and frowned. His skin felt a little smoother than usual somehow. “I don’t know, maybe I’m sweaty, it’s warm out there.”

“Hmm…” Daniel handed him a cup of hot chocolate, and took the other for himself. “Well listen, just be careful. I know you jump into things and trust everybody and just… make dumb decisions sometimes.”

“Thanks,” Simon muttered, rolling his eyes.

“You know I’m right. Promise you’ll think things through? And not dive in and be weird about it?”

“Yes!” Simon shoved him and sighed. “I’ll be careful, I’ll take things slow, I won’t be weird.”

“Too late.” Daniel grinned.

The following week, the shop bell jingled and Simon looked up. His breath caught.

“Hi! Um - Simon, right?” Markus smiled as he walked in.

“Markus, hi! How did you like the paint?”

“Oh, it was perfect. Just the right shade, I really like that brand. I thought I’d look at some other colors we’re running low on.”

“Of course! Take a look around, I’d be glad to show you samples of anything you like, or mix different shades. No ssnakes this time.” He grinned.

Markus laughed, shaking his head. “Sorry, I - I’ve never even had a bad experience with snakes, just the idea of them is…” He shivered.

“Ah - are you cold at all? I can turn on the heat. It was awfully chilly this morning, and I keep waiting for it to warm up.”

“Actually, it’s pretty warm in here.” Markus flapped the neck of his shirt a bit.

“Oh - sorry. I guess I’m jusst cold today.” Simon grimaced slightly, and took a drink of tea from his insulated cup. His tongue felt weird. Not like it was swelling up from an allergy or anything… kind of the opposite.

“It’s definitely cooler here than Charleston. I like Detroit much better. We both just found it really pretentious down there. Dad can’t really get by without help anymore but he wanted to get out of there, and I thought it’d be nice to start out somewhere new, so… here we are.” Markus smiled, bringing over a tube of cerulean and one of emerald. “Can I try these two mixed with eggshell? Emphasis on the blue, I think.”

Simon smiled and began mixing. “Sso, Charleston? I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s… well, high-class. Probably more on the pretentious side.”

“Definitely, it’s a lot of old money and… I don’t know, people pretending to be old money. …Which was Dad for a while, but he got over it.” Markus smirked. “Magic’s getting popular again down there, which - I didn’t realize that was even around anymore!”

Simon squeezed too hard on the cerulean, and a big glob spurted out. He sucked in his breath. “S-sorry! Um - really?”

“Not really my thing, I never knew anyone personally who was into it, but…” Markus shrugged. “I guess that’s not popular up here.”

“No. N-no, it’sss not a problem around here,” Simon muttered, scooping as much of the blue off as he could before adding a little more white and quickly mixing up the pile of colors. They swirled and blended, and he blinked, eyes feeling weird. “How’ss that?”

“That looks good, I’ll give it a try!” Markus paid when Simon scraped it into a tube for him, and headed out with a wave.

“I think ssomething’s wrong with me.”

“Do you have a lisp all of a sudden?” Daniel asked.

“No! I mean - I don’t know, it’ss… I don’t know what’ss happening! I - I’m hissing or something, it’ss not really a lisp. And… and my tongue feels weird, like it’s… thinner and smoother… and do my eyes look different to you?

Daniel glanced over. “No.”

“Really look! I can’t tell what’s wrong.”

Daniel sighed, walking over. “Fine. …I don’t know, they look fine. Your pupils are kind of big, but not like there’s something wrong.”

“Are you sure? Look at my tongue.” Simon stuck it out.

“I don’t want to - gross! No, your -” Daniel paused. “…Okay, I guess it does look thinner. Did you - I mean, you must have had taste buds, but I don’t see them. Weird. Are you tasting things differently?”

“I don’t know, maybe? I wasn’t… I don’t know, Daniel.” Simon sighed. “…And I’m always cold all of a sudden.”

“You’re always cold anyway.”

“I know, but more than usual.”

Daniel frowned and put a hand on his brother’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever. …You’re not sweating at all.”

“So I’m not sick, it’s just cold.”

“I’m not cold.” Daniel stared at him for a moment. “Have you used any magic lately?”

“No! You know I don’t like to.”

“I know, and you’ve got no reason for that. …You get mad lately or anything?”

“No!”

“So nothing… weird lately? Like magic-weird, not you-weird?”

“No.”

Daniel drummed his fingers thoughtfully. “It’s really hard to figure out more about it when it’s just me… trying things,” he muttered.

“I’m not - I’m not doing that.”

“Fine,” Daniel sighed. “I’m just saying, it’s… I think it needs an outlet sometimes. I use little bits pretty regularly, and you have an emotional outburst once in a while -”

“I don’t have emotional outbursssts, I’m not a cranky toddler!”

“Okay, but seriously, what if that’s the problem? You haven’t in a while, and stuff just builds up. Like… like if you bottle up emotions - which you absolutely do - it’s not healthy.”

“Oh, like you’re the most emotionally healthy guy around,” Simon muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, you wanna just let this keep going and not do anything about it? We’ll see how much worse it gets, maybe you’ll… I don’t know, turn into a snake by next month.”

Simon glared at him. “Sssssshut up, Daniel!”

“Hisssss,” Daniel shot back, grinning.

Simon raced to the store. He’d woken up late, and pretty much swallowed two harboiled eggs without chewing as he was leaving the apartment. Maybe it was just the changing weather, but he’d struggled to wake up every morning lately. The fact that he was definitely running slower than usual was probably just that he was tired, too. He thought about stopping by an Urgent Care to get checked out by a doctor, but part of him didn’t want to discover that something was actually wrong.

…And of course Markus was standing there by the door.

“I’m sssso sorry, I woke up late,” he muttered hurriedly, ducking his head as he opened the door. He didn’t care what Daniel said, there was something weird about his eyes. And his tongue felt… really, really weird.

“It’s okay, you’re not that late.” Markus chuckled. “I don’t need anything today, I was just in the neighborhood.”

Simon stopped and looked up at that, halfway through opening the register. “Oh,” he breathed.

“Um… well I was just wondering if you were free next Saturday night. My dad’s doing a gallery show over at the N’Namdi Center, and I’ve got a couple pieces in it… It’s from 7-10. With… wine and cheese and things like that, I don’t know. Just if you’re interested.”

“I… I… Y-yeah,” Simon squeaked.

“Great!” Markus grinned. “I’ll look for you! Oh, do you have any… business cards or something? There’ll be a lot of artists there, I can put them out for your store.”

“Oh! Um - sssure, I… here.” Simon clumsily dug in a drawer and pulled out a handful of cards. Markus’s hand brushed his as he took them - he was so warm!

“Thanks! See you then.”

“…So is this like a date?” Daniel asked.

“What? No! No, it’s - it’s an art ssshow, mostly for hisss dad, but he’ll have a few workss in it!”

“Hm. Saturday night? I could go if you want.”

“No! …I mean if you want to, fine, but I’m not asssking you to.”

“Good, because it sounds lame. …Are you limping?”

“What? I - no, I’m just tired, I haven’t been sleeping well, my legs are kind of dragging.”

“Your mouth’s still weird too. …Hey, stick out your tongue again.”

“What? No.”

“Come on, show me.”

“No, I -”

“Did you cut it?”

“…What?”

“It looks like it’s split right in the middle. Does it hurt?”

“No, I - no.” Simon frowned, clamping his mouth shut, and went to get another sweater.

“I don’t think you should go,” Daniel said for the third time. He was removing old cobwebs from the corners with little gestures that produced gusts of air.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Simon, you’re being ridiculous and I’m actually starting to worry.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Can I go with you, at least?”

“You ssssaid you didn’t want to.”

“Something’s wrong with you, and I want to make sure you’re okay since you won’t see a doctor.”

“Daniel, I’m fine. Really.”

Daniel stepped closer and grabbed his brother’s shoulders. “No you’re not. You know you’re not.”

Simon looked away - Daniel’s hands were warm, and felt good. “I said I’d be there, and I’m already late. I - we’ll talk later. Okay? I promise.”

Daniel frowned hard. “…Okay. Fine. Just - be careful? Please? And call me if you need anything?”

“I will.”

“Good. Thank you.” Daniel squeezed his shoulders and let go. “I’ll be here.”

Simon pulled his scarf a little tighter around his neck and walked through the gallery slowly. The light was fairly low, aside from spotlights on the paintings. Both artists’ styles were fairly distinctive - Carl’s paintings were a little more abstract, Markus’s lines were more distinct. Simon hung back - he felt a little underdressed, though not enough to feel like he needed to change. He listened to Carl talk about his work from the edge of the crowd. The man was clearly brilliant, and he had a sharp wit that had Simon covering a laugh a few times.

“Hey!”

Simon jumped, and his head whipped around. Markus stood there smiling.

“I’m glad you made it! …Aren’t you hot? It’s so warm with all these people in here!”

“Oh! I - no, I’m fine, I… this iss fantasstic, Markuss! You’re amazing!”

“I… thanks. Did you see the one over here?” Markus led him across the room.

“They’re ssso powerful. Sso much emotion!”

“Well, the color palette really helped,” Markus murmured, smiling. “This one’s my favorite. What do you think?”

“It’ssss… wow,” Simon breathed. “The colors are beautiful! It looksss like… like underwater, from below or sssomething! The figure’ss so detailed for being sso ssmall!”

“It’s kind of symbolic of… perseverance in the face of helplessness. Does that come across?”

Simon nodded. “I ssssee it! They’re almosst at the ssurface!”

“Exactly!” Markus grinned. “The color’s one I got from you. It’s… I actually adjusted it a little, I… I was thinking of your eyes.”

He was blushing. Simon forgot to breathe, or to blink.

“My eyessssss?” Simon licked his lips nervously, and his tongue - it felt so weird, it almost felt like it flicked. Markus’s eyes caught the motion, and before SImon could think he did it again. The wine and cheese suddenly smelled stronger, and he could smell soap and sweat and paint and –

“Simon, are you okay?”

He definitely hadn’t breathed in a minute, and Markus was looking worried, and he bit his lip.

“Is… is that…”

“I have to go. Sssssorry,” Simon hissed, whirling and weaving through the sparse crowd, pulling out his phone as he fled, texting Daniel.

_Simon: Can you come pick me up?_

_Daniel: Be right there._


	2. Chapter 2

The ride home was a blur, and Simon mumbled something before falling into bed. He wasn’t sure how long he slept, but he had vivid dreams that he didn’t remember afterwards. Sometimes he thought Daniel was talking to him, though whether that was real or not he wasn’t sure. He was cold a lot of the time, but he was usually cold now.

When he finally woke up, Simon was cocooned in more blankets than he’d ever seen. There was an electric blanket under him, and one among the comforters over him as well. There was a space heater plugged in. It felt amazing, and he stretched and sighed – warm at last!

The front door opened, and footsteps approached. Daniel opened the door looking stressed, and his eyes widened as they met Simon’s. “You’re awake!”

“How long wass I asssleep?”

“Almost a week, I thought you were dying!” Daniel hurried over and sat next to him, hugging him awkwardly, resting their foreheads together. “I told you something was wrong, you never listen to me!”

“I’m ssorry. You were right. I feel ssso much better now!” Simon shifted around, stretching out his spine. It felt amazingly loose. Maybe he should spend a few days sleeping on his back more often. He started to get up, but Daniel put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

“Hold on. We – we needed to talk before, and I guess it’s happening now. Simon… I don’t know how to even tell you…”

“Tell me what?” He pushed at the blankets and sat up, and Daniel sat back with a resigned sigh.

“Just – just don’t freak out, Simon. You’re still you. It might not be permanent.”

“What are you –“ Simon pulled back the blankets and… stared. His legs were gone. Or… fused. In their place was a smooth, slick tail, white and yellow.

“You’re not breathing. Simon, breathe.”

He didn’t.

“Look, I’ve been researching… You’re going to think it’s stupid, but what were you talking about for weeks before this?”

“W-what?” He shook his head slowly.

“The only thing you’ve been talking about.”

Simon stared at him. Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Markus. Come on Simon, wake up. You’ve been mooning over him since he showed up.”

“What – what doesss that have to do with anything!?” Simon choked out, clutching the blankets.

Daniel pried one of his hands open and clasped it gently, looking more serious than usual. “Simon, you’ve got a big heart, it’s one of your biggest flaws. And I know you fall for anyone who talks to you.”

“Daniel, that’sss –“

“To an extent. I mean – okay, it’s just that you… kind of open yourself up to everyone, it’s not necessarily falling in love every time, but it’s an emotional response, you know it. My best theory – and I’ve done as much research as I can – is like I said before, you bottle things up, and that combined with… how strong you obviously feel about Markus… um… any idea why… a snake?”

Simon flinched. “He’ssss scared of ssssnakess,” he mumbled.

“Great. Well… I would say maybe it’ll get better, but… you’re definitely more of a snake than you were before. Or, well, I’d call you more of a naga.”

“What am I ssssssupposed to do!?”

Daniel sighed and slumped down in his chair. “No idea.”

“Wass the ssstore just… closed all thiss time?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working and thinking you were dying, so I didn’t really have time to cover for you. Sorry,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “That’s really what you’re worried about?”

“No, I’m worried about being a reptile!” Simon shouted. “Issss that why I’ve been hissssing!?”

“Yeahhhh, probably.” Daniel sighed. “I… I’ll keep looking for something that can help you, okay? For now just try to relax. Can I get you anything to eat?”

Simon paused and looked up. “I’m sssso hungry.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “…I’ve got half a pork roast in the fridge. Are you gonna swallow it whole?”

Simon’s stomach growled, and he yawned wide… wider… Daniel stared as his jaw unhinged and opened enormously, then snapped shut.

“Simon, I love you. That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m gonna go heat that roast up for you… and I’ll at least cut it into chunks.”

A week later, Simon was back at work. His transformation had slowed – his scales above the waist were translucent, and he just had to remember to blink sometimes. He found a sweatshirt with an electric heater in it, and coiled on a chair behind the counter with his lower half wrapped in a blanket. He’d never see Markus again, he’d just try not to think about him… and if Daniel couldn’t figure out a way to reverse this, he’d just get used to being ¾ a snake. He ate mostly meat and eggs, and didn’t chew much. He took long hot baths and always kept a heating pad on hand. Daniel did the shopping, and helped him through his first shed, which came off in one piece, so he must be in good health according to reptile hobbyist websites.

Gleaming from his shed, Simon settled in for the day and started doodling behind the counter. He smiled into the morning sun when the bell over the door jingled.

“Good morning! Let me know if you need any help.”

“…I thought you were dead!”

Simon stiffened, his shoulders hunching up. His head began weaving very slowly.

Markus walked right up to him and leaned on the counter. Simon drew back.

“You were acting weird, you… you looked like something was wrong, and then you left and I saw someone who looked just like you practically carrying you out, and by the time I got outside you were gone! I didn’t know how to find you, I’ve been so worried!”

Simon’s tongue, now long and thin, kept flicking out a bit, he could smell the anxiety. A lot of it was his own. “I’m sssssorry, I… I didn’t underssstand then, I – pleassse don’t…”

“Simon, what happened?”

“You want to know!?” Simon burst out, rearing up. His tail – body – was incredibly strong. He could stretch up to the second floor without even leaning on anything. The blanket fell to the floor, and the light glinted off his scales. “Ssssee!?”

Markus backed up a step, gaping. Simon immediately regretted it and lowered himself again, drawing back into the shadows. “Ssssssorry, sssorry, I – I jusst… I’m sssorry.”

“You… you weren’t… like that before,” Markus breathed.

Simon shook his head.

“What… happened?”

“Well, I sssslowly turned into a sssnake. Or a naga. Maybe I’m not done.” He hugged himself tightly, eyes downcast.

“…How?”

“I don’t know. It’sss – my… my brother thinkssss it’ss a… buildup of… of magic.”

“I… I didn’t know you had magic.”

“I don’t usssse it. I don’t want it.”

“Have… you tried… using it, then?” Markus asked cautiously. “Like… to release some? If he’s right?”

“I don’t want to… to give in to it.”

Markus took a slow step forward. “Is there anything else you can try?”

“I don’t know. Daniel’ss looking, but… nothing yet.”

“Then… would it be so bad to try?”

Simon looked up, tongue flicking nervously. Markus looked uncertain, but he wasn’t running.

“I’m…” Simon paused, then huffed out a little hiss of laughter. “I guessssss I’m… more afraid to… be… a ssssnake at thisss point. I… don’t want to sssscare you.”

Markus paused, searching Simon’s face. He took a deep breath.

“Simon, you’re not a snake.”

“Markusssss… I’m mosstly a sssnake.”

“Can I… can I see your hand?”

Simon cautiously held his hand out for Markus to see better, turning it slightly so the small scales glinted in the light. Markus looked, and just as Simon began to draw it back he reached out and grabbed it. Simon instinctively pulled away.

“Wait! Just – Can I… I know this is weird, but can I…” He paused, rubbing his thumb over the back of Simon’s hand. “You’re so soft,” he breathed.

Simon stared at him, perfectly still.

“Oh – oh god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, I just – I’ve never… You’re…”

Simon pulled back. “I know I’m dissssgussting. It’sss okay. That’sss jussst how I am now, and I can’t even talk like a normal persssson anymore, and it’sss only going to get worsssse.”

“You’re not.”

Simon’s tongue flicked twice, and he stared.

“You’re… you’re not. You’re beautiful.”

“I’m… what?” Simon whispered.

“I never – I mean, I didn’t expect… but the way… just the little iridescent shine on each scale, and that pattern on your arms… is that all over?”

“Um. Um. I – Y-yeah, it’sss a little… different down my b-back…”

“Beautiful. And I love how the colors go with your eyes.”

“Oh,” Simon breathed, unable to look away.

“And – are… are regular snakes that soft, or is it just you?”

“I, uh… I think… all… sssnakess are like thiss.”

“You’re… do you mind if I ask… something awkward?”

Simon hissed a little laugh. “Thissss… whole thing iss awkward, but… asssk whatever you want, and I’ll try to anssswer.”

“Are you… you know… venomous?” Markus asked, his voice dropping at the end.

A smile tugged at Simon’s mouth. “No. I’m a consssstrictor. I… won’t ssssqueeze you, don’t worry.”

“Do you… just cover yourself in blankets and… hope no one sees you when you walk? Um – slither? Sorry.”

“Um… pretty much. I’m ssstill working it out.”

Markus scuffed his foot and glanced out the window, then back at Simon. “I’ve got some errands to run, but… if I come back tonight, could we… talk for a while?”

“Do you want to?” Simon asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” Markus smiled, tilting his head slightly. “Actually, I… I’d really like that.”

Simon smiled back, wider than a human could. “Sssso would I.”

“Is it hard… being upright?” Markus asked softly as they moved through the darkening streets together.

“Not assss hard asss I thought. Ssssnakess are all mussscle.”

“Do you… um… what do you eat?”

“Cooked meat and eggsss,” Simon answered quickly. “Ssssome dairy and fruit.”

“Is… that why you kind of hiss your S’s? I figured it was just a minor speech impediment, but it wasn’t as noticeable when I first met you.”

“Yeah… it’sss gotten worsssse.”

“It’s not that bad,” Markus assured him. “You’re still easy to understand.”

“Thankssss. I try.”

“Do you keep your house warm all the time?”

“No, my brother would get too hot. Jussst my room, and I wear heated clothessss and blanketsss.”

“I just saw your brother for a minute – are you twins?”

Simon nodded. “We’ve alwayssss been together.”

“I’m glad you’re not alone with this,” Markus murmured, and his hand rested lightly on Simon’s back. Even through the heated jacket, he could feel it.

The two started seeing each other more. Daniel was suspicious at first, but Markus really seemed to care about Simon, so he relaxed his guard a bit. The first time Carl saw him he was surprised, but he liked Simon anyway, so he accepted his reptilian side. Simon and Markus would sit in the sun and play chess, or just talk. Simon tried a little minor magic now and then, but he was still reluctant to use much.

One night Carl invited Simon and Daniel over for dinner, and Daniel agreed with a bit of grumbling.

“He’ss really niccce, you’ll like him. Hisss sensse of humor’ss kind of like yoursss.”

“Don’t try to make me excited about this,” Daniel muttered as they parked outside the large house. “I’m here for you, not your weird friends.”

“Of coursse.” Simon smiled as he slithered up the steps. Markus welcomed them at the door, and gave Daniel a brief tour.

“At least somebody’s able to get by just making art,” Daniel muttered to his brother when they got back. “This place is like a museum.”

When they sat down to dinner, Carl turned to Daniel. “Simon tells me you’ve been researching his… condition?”

Daniel straightened up. “Yes – there’s not much that applies to this specifically, but I’m doing what I can.”

“Why don’t you take a look through my library after dinner? I did some looking after talking to Simon, and I may have a few books that you’d find useful.”

“On… magic and transformations?” Daniel asked slowly, fork halfway to his mouth.

“Yes, I was into that kind of thing for a while – it was never my specialty, but I dabbled a bit. What I do now is mainly to help my mobility, but it helps to just do a little now and then.”

Daniel turned to Simon. “What have I been telling you this whole time!?”

“I know, I know!”

“I knew someone in school who would save up her power and transform, but it was always harder to go back. You know it’s all very much tied to emotions, of course. Often a strong positive will help push things back to normal. People who romanticized things would suggest true love’s kiss – which is mostly nonsense, of course. But there’s a grain of truth to it – mutual love is absolutely a strong force, and an event of some sort that springs from that can bump things in the right direction.”

“That’sss – I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind,” Simon said abruptly, and swallowed a large bite of chicken.

“Do you think it would work?” Markus asked softly when Daniel and Carl were talking over a stack of books after dinner.

“I… I’m not sssure.”

“Well, um… Look Simon, I… I like you. A lot.”

“Markusss, you don’t have to do thissss. I know I’m…” He trailed off and flicked his tongue, tail coiling up behind him.

“You’re beautiful, like I said before. I – I like you this way. More than I thought I would. …But it’s hard for you to get around without people seeing you, and I know it makes you uncomfortable. Do you want to change back?”

“Of courssse I do! I jussst want a normal life, I don’t want to be a… a monssster.”

Markus curled an arm around Simon’s back suddenly and drew him in, pressing a soft kiss to his thin, dry lips. “You’re absolutely not a monster,” he murmured.

Simon stared at him, forgetting to blink, forgetting to breathe. He didn’t need to breathe as much these days anyway, any more than he needed to blink. When Markus leaned in again, he tipped his head down to meet him and wrapped his arms around him. They only broke apart when Markus needed to breathe, and Simon realized he’d coiled forward to wrap loosely around Markus’s legs.

“I’m ssso ssssssorry,” he hissed, withdrawing.

Markus placed a warm hand on his cheek. “I… know it’s harder for you this way, but I’ve kind of wanted to see what that would be like. I know you won’t squeeze too hard.”

“Really?” Simon breathed. Markus nodded. Slowly, his tail crept back and curled around Markus. He rested on his hip while the rest of his long body wrapped around him, always careful not to squeeze.

“You’re so cool and soft,” Markus murmured, rubbing the scales gently.

“You’re… not sssscared?”

“Why would I be?” Markus smiled. “It’s just you.” He kissed Simon again, and the naga melted into it.

Simon’s scales began to disappear, though the patterns stayed on his skin. He began blinking and breathing more, and chewing his food again. When he slept for a week and woke up with legs again, Daniel immediately insisted he didn’t want to hear about what brought that on, but that he was glad Simon could walk around normally.

“You’re still soft,” Markus murmured, rubbing his thumb over Simon’s hand. “And I love it. …Is it weird that I miss your scales?”

“A little,” Simon admitted, unable to stop grinning. “I guessss I do too.”

“And your tail?”

“I – I’d gotten usssed to it.”

“And your hiss is cute.”

Simon covered his face, blushing. “It’ss not that bad anymore!”

“It was never bad.” Markus kissed his cheek. “And I think I’m well over my phobia of snakes thanks to you.”

“Well… good.”

“I’m thinking of getting a pet snake, in fact. I… liked the feeling of being held like that.”

Simon stared at him. “I… I could… try to go back…”

“If you could get by in everyday life like that, I’d say absolutely. But I don’t want to make life harder for you. …And I like you either way.”

Simon pulled him into a tight hug, nuzzling into his neck. He exerted just a bit of magic to exude warmth. “I like you too,” he whispered.


End file.
